The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Exploding federal criminal code

The Wall Street Journal is doing a nice job (here and here) covering how ridiculous the federal criminal code has become. (Previous coverage of the Maple Syrup proposal on this blog here). From the WSJ:

The federal criminal code has grown so large it ensnares everyday
citizens who have no idea they are violating the law, a bipartisan group
of legal experts told a House panel Tuesday.

There are about 4,500 criminal statutes, said Edwin Meese, attorney
general under President Ronald Reagan and now with the conservative
Heritage Foundation. "This is in addition to over 300,000 other
regulations that don't appear in the federal code but nevertheless carry
essentially criminal penalties including prison," he said. "So the vast
array of traps for the unwary that lurks out there in federal criminal
law is more extensive than most people realize." The Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts figures some 80,000 defendants are sentenced
in federal court each year.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.), chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee's panel on crime, terrorism and homeland
security,and several panelists cited an article in Monday's Wall Street
Journal, part of a yearlong series about the expansion of the federal
criminal code and the erosion of "criminal intent" requirements. The
article chronicled the conviction of one Maryland man for actions
prosecutors said weren't intentional. It explained how Lawrence Lewis
ended up with a federal criminal record while trying to deal with
clogged toilets at a military retirement home in Washington, D.C.
"He was subject to the same law that [would apply to] somebody who
knowingly, willingly dumped toxic materials into a navigable water,"
said Mr. Sensenbrenner, who has introduced a bill to shrink the federal
criminal code by a third and to define the level of criminal intent
necessary to break the law.

5 comments:

Oh Please!!! If we got rid of 21 U.S.C., drug cases would just be prosecuted in state court, where they belong. For decades, memebrs of Congress have been able to raise $$$$ and get re-elected by federalizing state crimes. It takes no real thought or effort and does nothing to lower crime rates. Meanwhile, complicated white-collar crimes that could get the benefit of federa resources go unchecked because the FBI and AUSA's are too busy prosecuting felon-in-possession cases and street dealers.

More importantly maybe you have more than enough business to last you for a while, but unless a substantial portion of citizens of the republic remain at jeopardy for getting indicted we may well have to take up drafting wills and trusts and such.

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.